Will Warriors See Randolph?

It’s been obvious all season that Anthony Randolph isn’t ready to play in the NBA — just as it was glaringly apparent in his days with the Warriors — and a shift to New York hasn’t helped. Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni benched Randolph for Wednesday night’s game in Sacramento, and it’s unlikely he’ll make more than a cameo appearance when the Knicks play in Oakland.

Randolph would like nothing better than to display his talents to Warrior fans, but he hasn’t earned the right. He’s been shockingly bad this season, absolutely lost on the court, a look Don Nelson spotted from the beginning. And it has reached the point where D’Antoni, with his job on the line, can’t afford to play anyone so radically unprepared.

In today’s New York Post, Knicks beat writer Marc Berman wrote that benching Randolph “was not the politically correct move with Knicks brass, which regards Randolph as an intriguing prospect. But it was long overdue. There have been too many mistakes, not enough rebounds, blocked shots or accurate jump shots. He’s more apt to shoot an airball from 20 feet than sink it. Turnovers have been an issue.

“I figured Randolph as the X-factor this season. It doesn’t look like he’s ready to be that guy, with a lower basketball IQ than expected. It will be interesting to see how D’Antoni plays it from here.”

D’Antoni’s off-day quote: “I told him, right now, this is all about the team and I’ve got to go with my gut and he might play and he might not. Right now, it’s all about the Knicks. We’ll worry about individuals after we get out of the hole a little bit. And then we’ll start talking about long-term strategies. But right now, it’s just to win today.”